Dark Scene of the Crime

Rowan’s POV

As I sat in my art class, and last class, I couldn’t help but to wonder what Alex was planning. I had been thinking about it all day. He said to give him a chance, and to let him get to know me better. What could that mean he was planning? I had no clue. I was stumped. But then again, it was cocky Alex, so it could be pretty much anything. I sighed and continued drawing on my canvas. I set the pencil down and looked at my completed drawing.

“That’s amazing,” said a male voice from behind me. I quickly turned around. It was someone I didn’t recognize. “Christofer Drew,” he told me, seeing the look on my face. I shuddered slightly at his name, Christopher was my father’s name.

“Rowan Winters. And thanks,” I told him, shaking his outstretched hand.

“You always draw this good?” he asked, taking a seat next to me.

“I don’t know. I guess. I never really like what I draw, but not very many artists do. I drew that this morning,” I said as I pointed to the picture of the tree I had drawn earlier this morning.

“Wow, that’s amazing too,” he said as he picked it up, admiring it. “You have some talent.”

“Thanks,” I said with a smile, trying to hide my blush. He smiled at me just as the bell rang.

“Well maybe we can hang out some time,” he said as he stood up. “Nice to meet you Rowan,” he said before walking away.

“Nice to meet you too Christofer.”

“Alright students, either leave your drawings here, or take them home with you,” Mrs. Finnigan said. “Nicely done, Miss Winters,” she said to me as I passed her with my drawing.

“Thanks.” I smiled at her before walking through the door and into the hall. An arm slid around my waist, making me jump. “God Alex, you scared me!”

“God Alex? I guess I am a god,” he said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes. “Oooh, a new drawing, let me see!” he said as he snatched my drawing out of my hands. It was a strange picture of a sun. He handed it back to me after a few minutes. “You’re an amazing artist.”

“Thanks,” I said quietly as I took back my picture.

“Now since its Friday, our date will be tonight,” he said as he opened the front doors of the school.

“And what do you have planned?” I asked.

“Like I’m gonna tell you. It’s a surprise, silly,” he told me. I rolled my eyes.

“Fine. What time?”

“Well, I already have everything planned out, we need at least a little bit of time with the sun,” he mumbled to himself, “I’ll pick you up around 6,” he said finally, looking up at me. I nodded.

“Alright. 6. You know where I live?” I asked, looking up at him as we walked down the stairs in front of the school.

“Little old Gabe told me,” he said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes.

“Okay. I will see you later then,” I said as I stopped walking and turned to him.

“Can I at least give you a ride home?” he pleaded. I sighed.

“Sure. Its better than walking.” He smiled and kissed my forehead.

“Yay!” he exclaimed as he grabbed my hand and towed me toward his car. I laughed and followed him as he opened the passenger side door for me. I got in and he closed it then raced over to the driver’s side. He got in and put the key in the ignition, pulling out of the school parking lot and into the street. It was a quiet ride. The whole time, I stared out the window and Alex stared out the windshield. It was getting quite awkward. I sighed in relief when he pulled into the driveway.

“Alright see ya later, Alex,” I said as I opened the door. As I expected, Alex’s hand grabbed my wrist. He sure was making a habit of that every time I wanted to leave.

“Wait,” he said, saying the word I expected him to say, too. I sighed and sat back down in the car so he wouldn’t pull me like he usually did. I knew what he was going to do. He leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on my lips, just as I had expected. As usual, my cheeks flushed furiously, turning a dark shade of pink. Alex smiled, and I knew he had seen my blush. “See you later Rowan,” he said as he let go of my wrist. I nodded and jumped out of the car, scurrying to the door. I quickly unlocked it and got inside the house, shutting it behind me. I leaned against the door, my breath coming out in quick, short breaths. My heart was pounding in my ears. I hated that his kisses did that to me. It wasn’t fair. Finally getting my breath back to normal, and my heart rate down to its normal rate, I picked my backpack up off the floor and ran to the stairs, racing up them. I slowed down when I got to the top, walking to my room. I opened the door, tossing my backpack on my bed. I got on my knees in front of my bed, pulling out a little bin from under it. The bin was filled with drawings and paintings I had done over the years; I always brought my creations home with me, and saved them in there. I picked up my two drawings from today and laid them both on the top before shoving the bin back under my bed. I kept them under there, and away from my dad. The last time he found my art, he ripped it into shreds. He thought I was stupid and was wasting my time on my drawings. He thought they looked like crap and were useless. I sighed as the member slithered back into my head.

I unlocked the door to my house, slowly opening it and walking inside. Today had been my first day of high school, and my first day of art class. I had drawn a picture that the art teacher praised me for. She told me I was a magnificent artist and to keep drawing things. It had made me smiled, I had never been praised like that before.

“What do you have there, girl?” my father asked as I walked into the kitchen.

“Nothing daddy, just a picture I drew in art class,” I told him quietly. I didn’t want to tick him off. I could tell he was already drunk and I didn’t want him to hurt me tonight.

“What did I tell you about calling me daddy?” he yelled.

“Right, sorry, Christopher,” I said quietly. I was always quiet around him, he scared me.

“That’s right. And let me see that drawing,” he said roughly as he snatched the drawing out of my hand and stared at it. “You call this art? Yeah right. This fucking horrible! Who do you think you are brat?! Thinking you can draw like your mother? You’re a fucking selfish brat, and I can’t believe you would try to copy her!” he shouted at me, tearing up my drawing in the process.

“NO! Don’t tear it up! And I’m not trying to copy her!” I shouted back. Boy, did I just make a mistake.

“Are you arguing with me?” he shouted. I shook my head vigorously, not wanting him to hit me. “Ohh, you just made the biggest mistake of your life, little girl!” he shouted, bringing his hand down and across my face.

My body shook with sobs as I remembered that night. That was the last time I ever let him see my drawings. He thought I was trying to take my mother’s place, as she had been an artist herself. Drawing was the only thing that kept me close to her. I had missed her so much after she died. I had only been 8 years old, and it was tough for me to live without her. Her death made me antisocial, resulting in my only having a few friends. My best friend, Sarah, was the only person I could go to with my troubles. She was the closest thing I had to a mother, considering my father was an abusive asshole. I wiped my eyes, there was no use in crying over it again. I looked at the clock, 4:30 pm. Alex was picking me up at 6, so I decided it was time to get in the shower. Walking to the bathroom, I turned on the water. I quickly stripped myself of my clothes and jumped in the shower. The hot water poured over my body, instantly soothing my still shaking body. I shampooed and conditioned my hair twice, along with shaving and washing my body. I stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my body and going back into my room. It was 5:15 now, so I had 45 minutes. I dressed myself in a white tank top and grey skinny jeans, along with my black converse. Going back to the bathroom, I blow dried my hair and straightened my hair, pulling on it so it would come out in waves instead of straight. I put on eyeliner and mascara before stepping back and taking a look at myself; I was decent enough. I walked out of the bathroom and looked at the clock; 5:54 now. Alex should be here soon. I grabbed my phone, sliding it in my pocket along with my house key before I walked down the stairs and took a seat on the couch. No sooner had I sat down, than the doorbell rang. I got up and walked to the door, pulling it open, revealing Alex, a rose in his hand.

“Hey Rowan,” he said, handing me the rose. I took the rose from his hand, smelling it.

“It’s beautiful Alex, and it smells wonderful, thank you,” I said to him. He smiled and nodded. “You can come in, I’m gonna put this in a vase,” I said as I walked away from the door and into the kitchen. He followed me, closing the door behind him. I pulled a vase from the cabinet, filling it with water. I put the rose inside, and decided to put it in my room. Might as well keep it safe from my dad. I quickly ran up the stairs, setting the vase on my desk and running back down the stairs.

“Ready?” he asked. I nodded. He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the door, opening it and walking out. I closed it behind us and locked it.

“What, no cocky jokes tonight?” I asked sarcastically as he opened the passenger door of his car for me. I got inside and he closed the door for me, walking over to the driver’s side.

“Nope, tonight I’m trying to show you the real me, not the cocky jerk everyone thinks I am,” he said as he got inside the car and put the key in the ignition. I nodded, slightly stunned. He turned on the radio and drove in silence. I stared out the window, watching the houses pass us. He pulled up at the park and parked the car. He ran over to my door and opened it for me, taking my hand and pulling me out of the car. He opened the trunk and pulled out a picnic basket, locking the car after he had closed the trunk again.

“Picnic in the park?” I asked. He shook his head.

“Nope.”

“Then what?”

“You’ll see.” He smiled slyly and gripped my hand tighter as he pulled me through the park. We got to the other side of the park where there was a large group of trees that had god knows what behind them. He pulled me through the trees, weaving through them and walking straight.

“Where are we going?” I asked him.

“You’ll see,” he repeated, the smile still on his face. I sighed. “We’re almost there,” he told me, squeezing my hand. I nodded just he pulled us out of the trees and into what seemed to be a clearing. All around us, there was green grass, flowers popping out in random places. Ahead of us, there was a small waterfall coming off the side of a hill, the water clanking off the rocks around it. The waterfall flowed into a stream that went from one of the clearing, to the other. The sun reflected off the water beautifully, making it sparkle.

“Alex…” I whispered, not wanting to disturb the peaceful quiet that set around the place.

“Do you like it?” he asked softly as he turned towards me. I nodded slowly, turning to him.

“Its beautiful,” I whispered, still in awe, as I flung my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Do you take every girl here?” I whispered in his ear, just to make sure.

“You’re the first person I’ve ever showed this to,” he whispered back, kissing my shoulder. I shuddered and smiled, pulling out of the hug. He grabbed my hand again, taking me down by the stream. He sat down, pulling me with him, as he set the basket down and opened it up. He pulled out two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, handing one to my. I smiled at him and took a bite out of it. We ate in silence, letting our eyes wander around the beautiful place. When we were done eating, he put the remains in the basket and set it aside, standing up. He walked over to the waterfall, picking up a guitar that was perched by it. I hadn’t even noticed it there. He came back over to me, sitting next to me and strumming a few chords before looking at me. “I’m going to play something for you, okay?” he told me. I nodded. He started softly strumming, joining in with his voice.

“I admit, I miss seeing your face babe,
And being alone is starting to take its toll,
I'm cold and it's getting old,
I admit, I should have made some changes.
We were so smothered in love,
We didn't have a chance to come up for air

What a waste, where did the time go?
Where did our minds go? I don't know.
What is this place? Where did our home go?
We won't know, I don't know.

Too much of anything is too much,
Too much love can be too much,
We had too much time, too much us,
So we fought like tomorrow was promised
Too much, too much, too much, too much
Too much, too much, too much, too much
Much, much too much

I admit, I'm still watching the days go by,
And sleeping alone is starting to break me down.
It's cold, but I should have known.
I admit, I made a few mistakes, babe,
We were so caught up in love,
We didn't have a chance to come up for air...

What a waste, where did the time go?
Where did our minds go? I don't know.
What is this place? Where did my heart go?
We'll never know, I'll never know...

Too much of anything is too much,
Too much love can be too much,
We had too much time, too much us,
So we fought like tomorrow was promised
Too much, too much, too much, too much
Too much, too much, too much, too much
Too much, too much, too much, too much
Too much, too much, too much, too much
Much, much too much

I need to find a reason to feel,
Like everything was meant to be let go,
Take it slow, 'cause I can't be on my own.

Too much of anything is too much,
Too much love can be too much,
We had too much time, too much us,
So we fought like tomorrow was promised
Too much, too much, too much, too much
Too much, too much, too much, too much
Too much, too much, too much, too much
Too much, too much, too much, too much
Much, much too much.”

I sat there, stunned, staring at Alex. He looked up at me shyly.

“You were amazing,” I whispered. He smiled and leaned forward, kissing me softly. As expected, I blushed. He put his arm around me and pulled me towards him. I rested my head on his shoulder.

“Watch the sunset,” he whispered to me. I nodded and watched as the sun set, casting beautiful colors on the water. Before I knew it, stars twinkled across the sky, reflecting in the water, and making it pitch black with dots of shiny white from the stars.

“This is beautiful,” I told him amazing. He nodded and kissed the side of my head. We sat there staring at the sky for about an hour, adding in talk every once in a while, but mostly basking in the beautiful view and peacefulness. After a while, I looked up at Alex. “I better be getting home.” He nodded and picked up his guitar and picnic basket, holding my hand as best as he could. We got back to the car, him setting his stuff in the trunk before we got in the car and sped off to my house. When we got there, we both got out of the car, meeting at the front of it. We stared into each others’ eyes for a second before he put his hand on the side of my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb. He brought his face closer to mine, placing a tender kiss on my lips. Deciding to let myself enjoy this one, I brought my hand up to his cheek, letting it rest there. We stood there for a couple minutes, our lips locked, before Alex broke the kiss.

“Goodnight Rowan,” he whispered.

“Goodnight Alex,” I whispered back before I walked to my door, unlocking it and reluctantly going inside.

“Where were you?” my dad’s voice boomed.

“I was out, with my friend Alex,” I told him.

“Alex who? Is Alex a boy?” he shouted.

“Yes. Alex Gaskarth. Is a boy,” I said quietly.

“Damn it Rowan, you’re not allowed to go out with boys!” he yelled.

“Since when?! And he didn’t hurt me!” I shouted back.

“I don’t give a flying fuck if he hurt you!” he shouted, coming towards me with his hand raised. “You’ve really done it this time girl!”

“DAD! NO!” I shouted as he brought his hand down across my face.